“Gash, arm Clara. She’ll stay here with Doc and Bailey to guard Josie, Bethany, and the kid,” Magic continued. “Doc, listen, you’re our last line of defense. If they get through us, it’s up to you to protect the pregnant and the young, ya hear?”
He was in her face now, and somehow she had to pull it together. She was used to tough situations, used to having to tamp down her panic, but with Owyn gone… shit.
“Doc,” he said softer, more urgent. “I can’t fight these guys unless I know my mate and the young she carries will be safe.”
She nodded, not sure if he saw it.
She could do this. She could.
She’d rather be fighting out front. Or better, helping Owyn find Renner. But the pregnant females couldn’t shift. And if things came to a blow, they needed someone who could defend them.
Just then, a crash sounded and footsteps thundered closer. But it wasn’t the rebel wolf pack that appeared in the doorway of the dining room.
It was Renner.
“The lines were sliced,” he said, out of breath. “Someone cut them on purpose. I think—”
Magic cut him off. “The lodge is under attack.”
“They’re seconds away,” Gash added. “In fact, it shouldn’t have taken them this long to climb the hill. Come on fuckers.” He stared out the window, his voice sounding lethal. “Where did you go?”
“Bethy!” Renner shouted.
“Where’s Owyn?” Doc managed, a claw of terror gripping her chest the longer it took Renner to answer. “Where is he? He went to find you.”
But she never got her answer.
Outside, intermittent flashes of amber lights could be seen through the trees. They were almost here. A siren blared, and it was like nothing she’d ever heard on a wrecker. It sounded like one of those old timey fire engine alarms, letting out a sick wail to announce impending doom.
“Doc,” Magic commanded. “Get everyone in the kitchen. And nothing comes through that door unless it’s one of us. Understood?”
“Yes.” She gave a quick thanks that her voice sounded more solid than she felt.
Quickly, she and the other females, minus Layna, headed for the kitchen while the rest of the clan moved through the lobby toward the front doors. She watched through the dining room window as her people lined up out front, ready to defend their home at any cost.
She was proud as fuck and scared to death. But if it came down to it, she’d do just as Magic asked. She’d defend their pregnant and young with her life.
Bailey and Clara stood shoulder to shoulder with her in front of the kitchen doorway, unable to take their eyes off the business out front as two massive trucks pulled to a stop in the parking lot. Flashing signals atop each truck made Doc blink hard. The contrast of total darkness to sudden light was blinding. And to make matters worse, three spotlights shone down on the clan lined up out front.
The bastards were marking their targets and announcing their arrival. Their war cry, Gash had called it.
A behemoth of a male jumped from the back of one of the trucks, landing squarely on his feet before strolling forward. And for the first time, she noticed the men hanging off the vehicles. Some crouched on top, others swung from the chains like Tarzan would from a vine.
The male was talking, swinging a pair of bolt cutters in one hand near his hip, and Doc strained to hear what he said.
“Can you make it out?” Clara whispered. But it wasn’t just her human ears that were causing her to miss whatever was being discussed. The man was speaking low.
Doc squinted, trying to make the scene clearer. The lights cast the strange man in shadow, but he called over his shoulder to his crew. Seconds ticked by before a couple emerged from the truck. One seemed to be struggling, kicking up dust as he was dragged forward into the wide beam of the spotlight.
As the dust cleared, Doc’s heart stalled.
“No.” It was merely a breath, but it felt like a hundred pound weight falling from her lips. “Owyn.”
A thick stream of blood trickled down the side of his head. He looked ready to turn his panther loose but was still in his human form. The wolves must have threatened him with a reason not to shift.
Doc stared at the grim sight before her.
No, no, no. This couldn’t be happening.
She rushed forward, ready to do whatever necessary to help her mate. He’d always been there, right beside her, when she was fighting a battle, a surgery, a sickness. Now she’d be there for him.
She felt her cougar rising to the surface, eager to shred their enemies, when heavy arms wrapped around her from behind.
“No, Doc,” Bailey hissed in her ear. “You can’t do this. We need you here.”